Harry Potter’s Tom Felton Played Silly Seriously in ‘Fackham Hall’

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Director Jim O’Hanlon had a clear idea for his new historical comedy, and Tom Felton perfectly brought it to life. Fackham Hall is a humorous take on traditional British period dramas, centering on Lord and Lady Davenport as they navigate the chaotic wedding of their daughter to her untrustworthy cousin.

I recently learned from an interview with the director, O’Hanlon, that he really aimed for a unique feel with this movie. He told MovieWeb he wanted it to be visually stunning enough that, if you just watched it without any sound, it could almost feel like a genuine, serious historical drama. It’s a cool idea – he wanted the visuals to carry a lot of the weight!

The humor came from presenting these incredibly strange things – like sumo wrestlers or a falling deer – with a completely straight face. The contrast between the normal way things were filmed and these absurd events is where most of the jokes came from.

Finding the right actors was crucial to the success of the project. O’Hanlon wanted the performances to feel authentic, but also clearly comedic. He ultimately assembled a strong cast including Tom Felton, Thomasin McKenzie (known for Jojo Rabbit), Ben Radcliffe (The Witcher), Hayley Mills (Trap), Emma Laird (28 Years Later), and Damian Lewis (Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood).

When asked who had the most difficulty keeping a straight face while delivering the unusual lines, O’Hanlon complimented everyone, but specifically praised the Harry Potter star.

I’ll never forget his first day on set. He turned to me and asked, ‘Are we really doing this, just completely straight?’ I confirmed that we were, and he said, ‘No expressions at all? Alright, let’s do it.’ He delivered a single line with such a perfectly straight face that it killed—the whole room erupted with laughter. I immediately knew he understood exactly what was needed. He really surprised me.

Watch the trailer for Fackham Hall below.

How Tom Felton Got Into Character for ‘Fackham Hall’

Despite the challenge of playing a comedic role with a straight face, Felton told MovieWeb that the detailed costumes and impressive filming locations actually helped him get into character more easily.

We wore costumes authentic to the period, and we filmed on location at historic estates and genuine medieval churches. That made it surprisingly easy to feel like we’d stepped back in time.

Even the experienced actors found some scenes so funny that they had trouble keeping straight faces, and Tom Felton says they ‘definitely’ had moments where they almost couldn’t finish filming without bursting out laughing.

The surprising thing is, the joke actually gets funnier the more you hear it, so we really had to nail the early scenes. It’s only after seeing the finished film that we fully realized just how ridiculously funny everything we did was.

Catch Fackham Hall in theaters now.

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2025-12-09 22:22